Drenched
by KaLeRei
Summary: They were drenched in rain, blood, sweat and tears. But memories of moments like these are the kind that last forever. Sometimes, it's all that you need to make a cold heart beat, and the numb feel. Sasuke-Sakura. ONESHOT.


:Okay…this has been bugging me for, like, ever… and it won't stop until it's posted… so here it is.

:I don't own Naruto… it's not so hard to believe.

* * *

**"****.Drenched."**

Pain filled every part of her body, just moving for cover was like a thousand needles piercing your skin, she took a few more steps, and finally got some cover in the form of a large forest tree.

She breathed heavily as she tried to catch her breath and concentrate, she leaned back on the tree and began healing herself, she sighed to herself for being so foolish, sure, she has grown stronger, but she couldn't take three elite-ninja by herself, even after three years of training. She was disappointed at her serious lack of judgment, she should've got help. They were already on their way back to Konoha from another mission, when suddenly they got separated and she got attacked, it was unexpected, since it was so near to the borders of the hidden village, and now she had no idea where her teammates were. And then, there was this ominous presence that was bothering her, it was oddly familiar, and it felt very close.

She heard footsteps going toward her, and she couldn't find the strength to stand up, she looked up to see the three enemy ninja looming above her, and she knew this was the end…

"_I guess I'll never see you become Hokage, Naruto…" _she thought to herself, readying for the blow that would end her life. _"…I won't be able to see you again either…" _thinking of her raven-haired former teammate.

Then she heard the metallic sound of a sword being unsheathed, and seeing the dark silhouette of a man behind her attackers. She heard their blood-curdling screams as the shining silver blade cut through them, she felt their blood splash into her face, and she smelled the crimson liquid's odor. She now knew the identity of the ominous presence she had felt earlier. It was unmistakable.

"Sa…su…ke…-kun…" she muttered, but she lacked strength and was unconscious soon after.

He turned his gaze to the unconscious form of the certain pink-haired kunoichi, and gave a sigh of relief at the fact that he had come just in time. He realized that she really had grown stronger. He never expected her to be able to last that long fighting three elite ninja by herself, and she had also grown more beautiful. Memories of the past were flooding his already cluttered mind.

Sure, she always was annoying, but still, he felt that she really did care about him, like how she would always be the first face he would see when he woke up from unconsciousness, or was at the hospital, strangely enough, she was also the last face he saw in Konoha before leaving to train with the snake-sannin. No matter how much he tried to push her away, to tell her to leave him alone, she would still be there, persistent as ever, and that was the most annoying thing about her… but somewhere inside him, he liked it, he felt like someone really cared, but a part of him was sad, because he knew he doesn't deserve her.

He took her in his arms, and decided to take her to Konohagakure, her home, and once, his. She could be healed there, since he clearly couldn't take her with him. He wasn't completely heartless, well, not yet anyway. Her wounds weren't fatal, but they did leave her unconscious, and he knew all he had to do was get her there, and someone would find her soon enough.

He hasn't set foot in the place for three years, and he certainly didn't expect to, not so soon, much less in this circumstances. He left the village seeking power, to get revenge for his clan, to kill his older brother. He turned his back on his friends, his home, his teacher, and everything he once cared about, all for his goal, for his ambition, which he still had to achieve.

As the hidden village's gigantic gates loomed over them, Sasuke noticed that no-one was guarding the place, so he carried her to a very familiar place, the last place he was in before leaving, the pathway out of the village.

He was about to lay her on a bench and leave, but she suddenly stirred and opened her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said weakly, looking into his emotionless dark onyx eyes. "Please… don't go…" she put her arms around his neck and held on tight, hugging him.

He didn't answer. He sat her on a bench, sighed, and turned to leave. She grasped for his hands and he looked back.

She remembered the last time she had set eyes on him, that time when he almost killed them… did he finally get the power he always wanted? He stood there, looming over them, with eyes that were cold, and empty, devoid of emotions… was he still human? She remembered his words to Naruto… asking him why he would risk the lives of an entire squad to look for him, instead of training and becoming Hokage… why did they work so hard to bring back someone who doesn't want to come back? Why didn't they just leave him alone, like he wanted? He never asked to be saved, to go home, to be brought back… so why did they risk their lives in the first place?

"Please…" tears were falling from her eyes and washing away the blood that had spattered her face. "…don't leave… me."

He stood there, gazing at her teary green eyes and somehow, he felt emotion again, he felt… sadness. Somewhere in his tainted and faded soul, he didn't want to leave, he didn't want to hurt her again. But he knew he could never come back until his goals were accomplished. He knew they would never be happy, he was also, though he didn't want to admit it, scared. Scared that his brother might kill another one of the people he cared for, so he decided not to have any.

"Sasuke-kun!" she said, as he turned away and her hand lost its grip. She immediately stood up and wrapped her arms around him. His eyes widened, as he remembered the feeling when she had done this before, how she was able to make the cursed seal cease taking control over him. She was his weakness, and his strength at the same time, she was one of the bonds he so desperately tried to sever, but ultimately, failed in doing.

"Sakura." He said, finally talking. "… I can't stay here…" he said, making her let go. He turned, and finally looked at her face-to-face. "…it's too late for me…"

"It was never too late… we never stooped looking for you…" she said, still crying. "Please… please stay." She said, to the one who broke her heart three years ago, the one she had always fawned over, the person she once had a childish crush on, that turned into an obsession, or maybe… love. It certainly felt that way, no matter how hard she tired to forget him, and move on, it never worked… and she knew that it never will. "I still love you… Sasuke-kun. "

Sasuke sighed, and looked into her deep green eyes once more, _"…if only I could tell you… but I don't deserve you…" _he thought. He wiped away her tears with his hand, and ran it through her cherry-blossom-pink hair.

"I never stopped… and I can't. I don't know why, but I just can't." she said, holding the wrist of the hand that had just passed through her hair.

"Sakura…" he said, and they soon were centimeters from each other, and their lips finally met. They parted when raindrops began to hit them. He looked up at the dark black sky looming above them, feeling the rain on his face, the emotions he felt making their way into every fiber of his being. As they stood there, being drenched under the rain, he felt something he hasn't felt in a long, long time… he felt… human.

He immersed all his being into this one moment, and for the first time in eight years, he felt happiness. Not clouded happiness that was only an illusion, but true happiness, like all the darkness and death was washed away by the rain. He felt… loved. But it never showed on his face, he was happy, but there was no smile on his face, just the usual stoic expression while the raindrops fell on them.

She knew, and she smiled, because she could make him feel again.

He knew she was the only one left in this living world that could ever make him feel that way again, but he also knew that moments like these never last forever. He still had a goal to achieve, and he could never be truly happy like this without fulfilling it.

This was the end of this particular moment.

Sakura felt a sharp jab, and struggled to hear the last words from his mouth.

"…maybe… someday…"

Then the darkness took over, and she was unconscious again.

Minutes later…

"What if she got attacked?!" a certain orange-jumpsuit wearing blonde-haired shinobi said as they reached the path that led out of the village.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere." answered the masked jonin, as his eyes narrowed to a bench near the village gates. "She'll be fine."

"There she is!" The blonde said happily as he ran to the bench were he saw his teammate's unconscious form. "I wonder how she got here?" the blonde said as he carried his unconscious friend.

"Someone took her here." He said, as he glared at a shadowed figure that wore a white top, with a clear Uchiha clan symbol on it disappear into the darkness.

"Who could that be?" he said with a look that said 'thinking but not getting anywhere'.

"Take a wild guess Naruto." He said.

"I don't get you sometimes Kakashi-sensei." he said with a confused look, as they made their way to the hospital.

"Maybe you never will." He answered with a smile visible only by his exposed eye.

"I wonder what she's smiling about." The blonde said as he noticed the smile playing on Sakura's lips as he carried her.

"I have a good idea why." The masked jonin said, still with a smile. _"I guess there is still hope for you... Sasuke." _

"I'm guessing… you're not going to tell me in a way I'll understand." The boy said.

"You just might be able to get me yet." The silver-haired man said, messing up his pupil's blonde hair.

Hours later, it was still dark, and Sakura woke up in Konoha Hospital, alone. A very familiar thing caught her eye on her bedside table. She took it in her hands, and fought back tears from her eyes. She gazed at the photograph, but mostly at the raven-haired boy on the left.

She looked outside the window, and slowly stood up, she still felt weak and there was a sharp cold pain every time she took a step on the hospital floor. But she reached the window soon enough, and opened the window, and faced the dark clouds looming above the village. She knew that somewhere out there, maybe, he would be feeling the same rain, under the same sky.

She still loved him, she knew it from the deeps of her heart, and after what happened tonight, she was sure that she always would, she would always wait, no matter how many times he would abandon her for his revenge, and leave her unconscious on a bench.

* * *

:Well there it is… oh-so-very clichéd, sappy, and well… I don't really know. Call it what you will. Sorry if Sasuke was so out-of-character...Kakashi knows more that he lets on… doesn't he?

:Inspired by the song "Forever" by Papa Roach, and a number of other things…

:Thanks for reading! Please review!


End file.
